Parallel Silence
by pikachugirl2
Summary: Alternate end to The Rise Of Darkrai. Ash and Dawn couldn't play Oracion in time. What became of everyone, and how did Ash take everything when people blamed him for it? Minor AshxOC, and lots of Pikashipping, especially the ending.
1. I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry

The world seemed to collapse. The plate clattered to the ground as the two children lost hope of reaching the machine in time. The boy looked down at his friend, Pikachu, who was looking up at him sadly, and, expecting the worse, clung to his ankle. He knelt down and stroked its head gently to reassure it he wouldn't leave it. A similar scene was taking place between the girl and her Piplup. The boy spoke in a low voice that seemed to have lost all determination.

"Dawn, I'm sorry we didn't make it."

"It's not your fault, Ash. But now…"

There was a crash outside, it was small at first, but the sound grew to an explosion. Ash heard screaming out there. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of all the people he'd let down. Dawn put her hand on his shoulder as the Space-Time Towers began to collapse.

This was it. Alamos Town was facing its darkest hour. There was no running, no escape. The two trainers and their Pokemon watched sadly as the scene unfolded before them. They watched their friend Brock disintegrate. Dawn cried out for him, but Ash just watched. Alice and Tonio were hugging each other tightly as they both disintegrated. Alice was crying. Something in Ash's heart seemed to die watching what he'd done, all the people he couldn't save the lives of. He watched all the others go. Baron Alberto. Nurse Joy. Officer Jenny. Even Team Rocket he felt bad for. Then his hand started tingling. When he looked down, he saw his fingers were disintegrating rapidly.

"Ash? Not you too! Stop, you can't go!"

Ash looked at Dawn's hair. The ends were doing the same thing. "You too, Dawn."

Dawn saw this and tried frantically to make it stop. Piplup tried to stop it with it's Bubblebeam, but no luck. Ash sat down, defeated and disintegrating rapidly. Pikachu rushed to his side, tears in its eyes. Ash let a small tear slide down his cheek when he saw that Pikachu's tail was disintegrating. He couldn't even save his best friend. He closed his eyes as everything around him collapsed, the same words repeating in his mind over and over.

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

Ash opened his eyes. He was in a strange place. Was he…dead? No one else was around. He started walking, hoping to find someone nearby. All he saw was a little girl, but anyone was good enough for him.

"Hey! Can you hear me? I'm talking to you!"

There was no reply. Ash rushed towards the girl. Her expression seemed blank, her body frozen in place like a statue. Ash heard a strange voice.

_Are you Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town?_

"Uh…yeah, that's me."

_I'm Melanie. My mommy was going to have my baby sister tomorrow. But I'll never get to see her. Dialga and Palkia didn't let me or my mommy live long enough._

Ash's stomach twisted into a knot. This was one of the people he couldn't save. Soon he could see another person who seemed to be in a condition similar to the girl's. He ran over to it. This one was a boy who looked his age.

_Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town?_

"Yeah, that's me…"

_Why didn't you save me, Ash? Why?_

"I…I couldn't…in time…"

_I was on my journey, and I got a girlfriend. She and I were supposed to meet tonight for the first time in years, and you let her die. You let everyone die. Why would you do something like that?_

"Just shut up!"

Ash turned and tried to run away, but he saw more and more people, all saying the same things to him.

_Why didn't you save me, Ash? Why didn't you? I had a wife and kids, and what happened to them?_

_Why didn't you save me, Ash? I just got my first Pokemon yesterday, and I was gonna start my journey today! But now I'll never see it again?_

_Why, Ash Ketchum, why wouldn't you save me?_

_Why?_

Ash couldn't take it. Hot tears streamed down his face as he started to cry, realizing just how many people he'd let down. Then he heard it. A voice that made his tears slow down.

_It's okay, Ash. It wasn't your fault._

The voice wasn't recognizable, but he turned around and saw Pikachu in a similar condition. Pikachu had a sad smile on its face, even though it couldn't move at all. Ash knelt down next to it.

"It…wasn't my fault? Am I dead? Are you all dead?"

_Sadly, yes, we're all dead. Everyone who is like me is dead. But you…when you disintegrated, there was still some hope burning inside of you that you refused to let out. The hope kept you alive. You ended up in the same place as us, but you are still alive. You still have us, Ash._

"But…I thought if I didn't do it in time, then we'd just be trapped in another dimension!"

_We are. But the force of the blow killed everyone on impact. Only our bodies disintegrated. But you…you disintegrated the fastest, Ash. And you lived. I don't know how. But you're alive, and that's all that matters to me. If I know you're safe, I'll be fine._

"Pikachu…"

Ash stroked the frozen creature's head softly. Then a miraculous thing happened. Color returned to Pikachu's body, and it became unfrozen again. It looked around, confused, before seeing its trainer and leaping into his arms. Ash started to cry again.

"Pikapi…"

Pikachu tried to brush his tears away without luck. They just kept coming back. Ash was happy and sad at the same time.

"Pikachu, I know why I'm alive. If you guys were all dead, then I'm trapped here alone. This is my punishment for letting everyone down. I should be dead too. I want to be dead. And now you're alive too, because I'm alive and I touched you. Then some of my life transferred to you, I guess. But now you're trapped here with me, and you'll endure the same punishment I will. And that's not right! It shouldn't be this way, if I die, at least I'll be with the rest of you!"

Ash started to cry again. Pikachu looked up at him sadly.

"Pikapi, pika, pikachu!"

Ash's tears slowed down again. "Are you…are you saying you want to be alive?"

Pikachu nodded happily and nuzzled its trainer gently. Ash smiled slightly.

"As long as we're together, I guess."

Ash looked around at the other people, seeing Dawn and Brock among them. He didn't have enough life left to revive them all. Pikachu was the only one he could bring back to life.

_I let you all down. I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me?_


	2. Repaying A Debt

**Hey, since a lot of people asked, and after alot of thought, I made my oneshot into a twoshot! You like? Plz review, hope I made the continuation good! Note: This will be the actual end of this story.**

Six weeks. It felt more like six years. The never-ending punishment was weighing more and more on Ash's shoulders every day. Ever since the day he'd let everyone down, gotten everyone killed, he'd been punished with eternal darkness, completely in solitude…

Well, not complete solitude, at least. There was always the only one he could revive, which was his best friend, Pikachu. And the seemingly infinite amount of souls asking him how he could've let them down. That was probably the most awful part of the whole punishment.

Anyone besides him and Pikachu was dead, but their bodies were preserved when they were dragged into the other dimension. None of them would forgive him, either. He'd never meant to hurt so many people, and he couldn't take it much longer.

Lost in thought, he didn't realize when a small tear ran down his face. But he did notice when Pikachu gently licked the tear off of his face. He turned away, making sure no more stray tears fell. Then he turned back to Pikachu.

"Thanks."

Pikachu responded with a smile. But it could still tell something was on it's trainer's mind. Maybe, just maybe, it could talk to him in the way it did before he revived it…Pikachu concentrated as hard as it could, trying to talk to Ash telepathically.

_Ash…can you hear me like this?_

Ash raised his head and looked around for something. Pikachu smiled; maybe this was working.

_Well, if you can, say something, I'm getting a headache talking like this._

"What the heck? Who's saying that?"

Pikachu giggled._ The voice in the back of your mind._

Ash tugged at his hair in frustration. "Great! Now the voices in my head are driving me insane! Someone make it stop!!!"

Pikachu burst into a fit of laughter when Ash finally made the connection. Ash rolled his eyes, but couldn't hold back a weak smile.

"Very funny. I thought I was going insane. Guess you can still talk to me like that, huh?"

Pikachu nodded. Ash rubbed the small Pokemon's head gently.

"So what were you trying to tell me, then?"

_Well, what if we try to find Palkia? Then we can get back to Alamos Town, and everything can go back to normal! We can forget about all this, and-"_

Ash's smile faded. Pikachu looked at it's trainer sadly as he stared at his shoes.

"We can't. This is my punishment for letting everyone down. I have to suck it up and just accept that I'm stuck here forever."

_Ash, don't be so hard on yourself…_

"I'm not being hard on myself, it's the truth, Pikachu. You getting revived was just an accident."

_But we-_

"Pikachu, there's nothing I can do! This is my fault!"

Pikachu could tell this was going nowhere, Ash wouldn't stop blaming himself for everything. Pikachu ran off, ignoring Ash's pleads not to leave him. Ash felt hot tears push at his eyes.

_Great. Now my best friend doesn't even wanna be with me. I knew it was only a matter of time…now…Pikachu hates me too…_

As hard as he tried to stop it, Ash started to cry anyway.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere a little ways away from where Ash currently was, Pikachu had been searching frantically for Palkia. The only thing it wanted was for Ash to get back to their dimension, so he could be happy again. It wouldn't care that it was stuck there alone, enduring what he thought to be his punishment. He'd be okay.

The only thing it could find was a small, glowing, pink orb. It approached it slowly and cautiously. There was a soft voice emitting from it, most likely telepathically…

_Are you in anyway related to Ash Ketchum?_

Pikachu spoke back the same way. Maybe the telepathy from before would work now…

_If you're going to be angry at him, then don't bother asking._

_I won't be angry. In fact, I'm not angry at all as of right now._

Pikachu started to relax a little. So it wasn't mad at Ash…

_Do…do you know where I can find Palkia?_

_Palkia…the master of this dimension…what would you want with it?_

Pikachu took a deep breath before asking. _Would Palkia be able to take Ash back to his dimension?_

There was silence for a moment, then the voice returned.

_If it chose to, yes, it could. But why should it if no one else goes back, including you?_

Pikachu felt tears coming. _Please, I'm begging you, he's my best friend! He's going insane, he thinks this is some sort of punishment for him! This is Palkia's fault, not his! Palkia's and Dialga's! Their fighting killed everyone, and he's taking the blame for it all! The least Palkia can do is send him back!!!_

The silence was longer than ever. Then the orb spoke once more. Pikachu listened intensely, but still trying not to cry.

_Once he is gone, he cannot return to this dimension. You may not leave, either. Only he can. If you accept these conditions, I shall send him back personally._

Pikachu was confused. _But that would mean…_

_Yes, I am Palkia. I am not in this dimension currently, but this is my only means of communication with those such as yourself._

Pikachu thought for a moment, accidently letting a tear slide down it's face. If Ash was sent back to his dimension, it could never see him again. But Ash meant more to it than anything, it wanted him to be alright. It nodded it's head reluctantly.

_Send him back. Just do it. Before I change my mind._

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Ash watched in shock as his feet started to disintegrate, the way that they had when everyone had disappeared from Alamos Town into Palkia's dimension. Slowly his entire body began to disintegrate, and before he knew it, he was enveloped in bright, blinding white light.

The bright blue sky blinded him, and he looked down to see grass under his feet. He couldn't believe his eyes. He was standing before a small town that was unfamiliar to him. But he was most definitely back in Sinnoh.

At the awful realization, Ash fell to his knees and started to cry as hard as possible. Even though he was back, everyone was still gone. Everyone he couldn't save. Brock. Dawn.

Even Pikachu.

He would rather have been back in the other dimension; this was the worst punishment imaginable.


	3. Final: Escape To My Worst Nightmare

As Ash stared at the town he'd appeared in front of, he realized that everything was a blur. Ever since he'd gotten back, he could hardly remember the incident. But he could very clearly remember that he'd been sent out of the painful dimension of parallel silence. He'd been freed from his worst nightmare.

But he'd give anything to go back.

Pikachu was the only one Ash had left, and now he'd never see it again. The realization brought him to tears. He lied down in the grass and pulled his hat down over his eyes, crying softly.

* * *

"Well? Is it dead?"

"I don't know. Should we tell mommy?"

"Nah. I wanna keep poking it."

Ash awoke to the feeling of being jabbed at with a stick. He hadn't realized he'd cried himself to sleep until now. He didn't want to get up, but the poking got harder and harder. Eventually he sat up angrily.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING TO ME???"

As he opened his eyes sleepily, a young boy and a young girl came into his vision. Both of them only seemed to be about five or six years old. The girl screamed and both children ran behind a woman nearby, hiding behind her legs. Ash stared at her. She was beautiful, with long brown hair that ran down her back. She was wearing a green sundress that matched her eyes, and she was wearing beige sandals, along with a tan sunhat. She was holding a parasol in one hand and a clipboard in the other, with a pencil behind her ear. The boy spoke up.

"Mom, it LIVES!!!"

The woman patted the boy's head gently and reassuringly. Ash couldn't help but envy the boy. He wished someone cared about him that much too. The woman approached Ash slowly and cautiously, and knelt down beside him. Ash rubbed his eyes tiredly; her voice was somewhat soothing and made him feel comfortable.

"Please excuse my children. Their curiosity is going to get them hurt one day. Did they hurt you at all?"

Ash shook his head, but the woman gently lifted his arm. There was a spot that was bleeding. She turned and shot a warning glance at her children, who just blushed, not knowing they'd injured him. She set down a small backpack that Ash assumed he hadn't noticed before. She set her clipboard on the grass and opened up the backpack, pulling out a first aid kit. She gently sprayed something on his arm that stung and made him wince. Then she carefully bandaged up the bleeding area and smiled at him.

"Would you like to come back to my house? You don't look so well."

Ash nodded his head. He felt exhausted. Maybe transferring dimensions had taken more out of him than he'd thought. The woman seemed to realize that he was tired and gently picked him up.

"Oh my, you're very light for a boy your age, aren't you? Are you sure you're in good health?"

Ash felt much too tired to even open his mouth and respond to her question. He closed his eyes, inhaling her scent. She had a beautiful scent, almost like a cross between lavender and cinnamon. He didn't realize when he fell asleep, or knew when he did.

* * *

When he woke up this time, he was lying in a bed in someone's house. He assumed the woman had carried him all the way back to her house. He turned his head and opened his eyes. The woman came into view, sitting in a chair beside him, holding a cup of water. Ash sat up as she handed him the glass.

"I'm very sorry. I didn't recognize you at first glance. You wouldn't happen to be Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, would you?"

Ash set the glass down on a table next to the bed. "What of it?"

"Well, you see, I'm friends with Professor Oak, and he's told me very much about your adventures. My children love watching you compete in the league competitions on television."

Ash smirked. "Great, I have fans."

The woman smiled. "May I ask why you were sleeping in a field by yourself?"

Ash's smirk faded and he looked down sadly. "Pikachu…"

"Excuse me?"

"Huh? Nothing, sorry. It's just…I can't remember much."

"I see. Would you mind telling me what you do remember?"

Ash sighed and began to tell the woman the entire story from when he arrived in Palkia's dimension, all the way to her children finding him in the field.

"Oh…I heard about the Alamos incident…they said there were no survivors, though…"

"Yeah, well me and Pikachu survived somehow. But…Pikachu's still there. And I have to get it back somehow. Thanks for your hospitality….uh…."

"Laura. My name is Laura."

"Right, right. Laura, thanks for everything, but I gotta go find a way to save my best friend."

Ash got out of the bed and approached the door, but Laura gently put her hand on his shoulder. He blushed at the softness of her fingertips on his shoulder.

"Well, you don't have to look much farther. I can help you get back."

A huge smile overtook Ash's face. "You can help me get Pikachu back?"

Laura smiled brightly at him and nodded. "I was doing research on the Time-Space Rift before the Alamos incident. I know enough about it to get you back."

Ash turned around and hugged her tightly, tears of happiness streaming down his face. "Thank you, thank you thank you thank you!!!!!"

Laura laughed, allowing Ash to hug her as long as he wished to. Ash soon realized what he was doing and blushed brightly. He released his grip and looked at his feet.

"Sorry."

"It's alright. My husband died in the Alamos incident, so no one would be jealous."

Ash sighed. Another person he'd let down. Another person he could've saved. He could forget all chances he had with Laura now.

"So…you can get me back to Palkia's Dimension?"

"I can, but you'll need to stay the night here. I'll figure something out meanwhile. So you just get back in that bed and I'll wake you up when I figure something out. My kids are already asleep to begin with, and it's late."

Reluctantly, and unable to wait until he could see Pikachu's face again, Ash climbed back into the bed and forced himself to fall asleep.

* * *

At about three in the morning, Ash felt someone shake him awake. "Ash, sweetheart, please wake up. I figured something out."

Ash sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Laura was awake with a desk light on, hard at work on a computer.

"Sweetheart, huh?"

Laura blushed. "Sorry, did I say that? It's just you remind me so much of my husband…"

"So what'd you figure out?"

"Okay. It turns out that at midnight every night, the moon aligns with the rift leading to Palkia's Dimension. There's an odd force that really can't be explained, but if you stand in the exact spot where you ended up when I found you while moonlight is shining on it, you'll somehow be pulled back into that dimension. I can't explain it well, but I know its true."

Ash pulled his hat on. "What time is it?"

"11: 30. If we hurry, we can make it before the moonlight comes out."

Ash pulled his vest on and threw his backpack over his shoulder. Laura headed for the door, holding it open for Ash. Both of them rushed outside and headed for the spot in the field where moonlight was shining. At last Laura spotted it just in time.

"Ash, go and stand in the moonlight. If you do, you'll be pulled back into that dimension."

Ash took a deep breath and stepped into the light. For the third time, his fingertips began to disintegrate and his body felt light. He turned his head and gave Laura one last glance. She was waving goodbye to him. He sighed and held his breath as his body completely disintegrated and was enveloped in light.

* * *

Ash landed hard on his back, on what seemed to be unsteady ground. Looking around, he recognized the place perfectly. A sudden pair of glowing pink eyes made him shiver, and he was hit hard by something that sent him flying, then crashing into the ground again.

"Intruder! How did you find this place? And who are you?"

Ash stood up and brushed the dirt off himself. "I'm Ash Ketchum. I was sent here after the Alamos incident, and my friend freed me from here, but I found a way back so I-"

"Wait. Did you say your name is Ash Ketchum?"

Out of the darkness, Ash gasped when Palkia appeared in front of him, with someone's sillouete following close behind.

"Is he the one you were talking about?"

_Ash??? How'd you…when did you…_

Ash felt tears of joy rush from his eyes when he saw Pikachu step out from behind Palkia. He immediately picked it up and hugged it tightly.

"PIKACHU! I'm so glad you're okay!"

_Ash…I thought you would've been happier back in Sinnoh…_

Pikachu gently brushed Ash's tears away, and Ash shook his head. "You're all I've got left. And even if it means eternal punishment here, I'd stay with you until the day I die."

Pikachu started to respond, but tears stopped it. Ash hugged it tightly as it started to cry, and he himself started to cry as well. Palkia disappeared, leaving the two survivors crying in joy in each other's arms.


End file.
